12 Mustread Books for Christmas

12 authors, 12 HIGHLY recommended books for all tastes

- sharp, sweet, cosy, exciting or downright dangerous!

Sing along! 

(lyrics at the bottom and you KNOW the tune)

Show how you feel by giving somebody the perfect book! 

Even if that somebody is YOU!
Treat yourself this Christmas!

For the first book at Christmas, my true love gave to me
a crib scene calamity!

Murder in the Manger by Debbie Young

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

For the second book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

2 haunted lives

The Chase by Lorna Fergusson

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

or kobo

For the third book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

3 French dogs

Nici's Christmas Tale by Jean Gill

Read more details and buy the book at amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

other bookstores

For the fourth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

4 stalking birds

Into The Silent Sea by Claire Stibbe

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

For the fifth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

5 wild flings

The Frozen River by Clare Flynn

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

For the sixth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

6 family strangers

Bitter Like Orange Peel by Jessica Bell

Read more details and buy the book at all bookstores

For the seventh book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

7 savage women

Snow Angel by JJ Marsh

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

other bookstores

For the eighth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

8 Saturnalia

Roma Nova Extra by Alison Morton

Read more details and buy the book at amazon

kobo     B & N    ibooks

For the ninth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

9 hearts romancing

The Christmas Heart by Helena Halme

Read more details and buy the book at all bookstores

For the tenth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

10 loves for weeping

The Swooping Magpie by Liza Perrat

Read more details and buy the book at all book stores

For the eleventh book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

11 pirates fighting

The Chosen Man by J G Harlond

Read more details and buy the book at amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

For the twelfth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

12 fine art  photos

I Stopped Time by Jane Davis

Read more details and buy the book at all bookstores

Sing along!

The Twelve Books For Christmas - Song

For the twelfth book at Christmas, my true love gave to me

12 fine art  photos

11 pirates fighting

10 loves for weeping

9 hearts romancing

8 Saturnalia

7 savage women

6 family strangers

5 wild flings

4 stalking birds

3 French dogs

2 haunted lives

and

a crib scene calamity!

Blogs worth a writer's visit

I've met some very interesting people, all round the world, via books and blogs, so if you're in the mood to browse, here's a few for you...

My Life, one story at a time

Donna McBroom Theriot lives in Louisiana, likes Sweet Tea and says, 'All my life I have loved books; so it was a natural progression to merge that love of books with book reviewing. I also love to write, and dispersed between the many book reviews you will find on my blog, are my stories, my memories, my memoir. I invite you along for the journey, through laughter and tears, and the ups and downs that make up my life'.

Donna's Blog 'My life; one story at a time' delivers what it promises - a mix of interviews, reviews, features, giveaways and some of the author's work. The blog changes frequently, with input from top writers (and I don't mean me!)

I was asked to do a guest post 'something personal, about how you managed to combine writing with  working and being a mother.' That really got me thinking back to the old days.

How to be a not-perfect writing-working-mother

I am lucky. The children are grown up, I no longer have to go out to work, and I can write or take photos whenever I want. But it wasn’t always like this…

Twelve books ago, I was forty, with a nine year old son, an adopted eighteen year-old daughter, two dogs, seven cats and occasional kittens. They all lived with my husband and me. I also had three stepdaughters, a bit older than my adopted daughter, who came over from time to time. As if that wasn’t enough, my husband and I had demanding full-time jobs too.  

In fact, I’d just been appointed Headteacher (Principal) of a school for 11-16 year-olds, to see the school through its last two years to closure. Parents don’t like to send their children to a closing school. This meant that we had a high number of disadvantaged youngsters in our school and teachers didn’t stay long. It was a tough job.

So that was the year I decided I’d write a novel. 

Read the rest on Donna's blog (after the details of 'Song at Dawn')

The Queen's Quill Review

If you like  HISTORICAL NOVELS, check out The Queen's Quill Review. Andrea Connell's site is serious and professional. No distractions here but the reviews are wham-bam to the heart of some very interesting books. A great site to find your next historical read. She's a busy lady but each update is well worth waiting for.

Lindsay's Romantics

You have a heart of mush and love ROMANCE? Check out Lindsay's Romantics - pink, pink and more pink, with plenty of reviews. Again, this is someone who writes herself and reviews the genre she loves.

Review - 'Mrs Jones' by B.A. Morton

Happy World Book Day, and Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus, with daffodils.

Following my interview of B.A. Morton, here's my review of her novel  'Mrs Jones'.

amazon page

A British girl with a secret.
A New York cop with a past. 
And a mob that wants revenge.
In the slickest, sneakiest twistiest-turniest hard-boiled crime noir novel to come out in a long time, ruggedly pragmatic but honest cop Detective Tommy Connell picks up an English girl, Mrs Jones, who claims to be the witness to a murder, and promptly falls in love with her. Well, Mrs Jones, whoever she is, must be very attractive because an awful lot of people seem to want to get their hands on her if they can prise her from Connell's determined grasp, including some prominent representatives of organised crime and the Feds. Detective Connell definitely has his work cut out here if he wants to end up with the body of Mrs Jones, dead or alive, that's for sure. All-in-all it's probably safe to say he hasn't a clue what is going on. It is probably equally safe to guess that Mrs Jones does. Not that 'safe' is quite the right word to use here or, there again, maybe it is.

Jean Gill's review of 'Mrs Jones' by B.A. Morton

I came to 'Mrs Jones' with all kinds of preconceptions, not just the usual ones from blurb, cover and genre, but also knowing that it won a prize in the prestigious Yeovil Competition, and knowing that I liked the author's persona in interview.

Having entered (and failed) at the Yeovil, my response to the book was a mix of sour grapes and surprise at discovering that 'Mrs Jones' is not a powerful work of literature, full of deeply challenging insights. Then I forgot about what it isn't and enjoyed it for what it is.

This is a fast-paced, romantic detective story, racing through a few days in New York at the speed of a Hollywood car chase, and with the same enjoyment of gangland and shoot-outs, all described with just enough detail to let us imagine the action. The relationship between Connell and Mrs Jones is created with lively, humorous dialogue (if unconvincing in the American voice) and the premise of a Geordie girl with a New York cop is original and entertaining. Their mutual attraction must be eligible for a record as the longest foreplay in fiction, with seven or eight romantic scenes in which the interruptus to the desired coitus is delivered via every device from a small child to a police bust. This is too much frustration for my taste but other readers will enjoy what the author calls the 'will-they won't-they' hook. That much build-up ought to be satisfied by a wonderful climax shared with the reader but I found that frustrating too. If you want to know what I mean, you'll have to read the book yourself.

There are inevitably holes in the detective plot, which offers ever-new revelations. Some of them just don't fit with earlier details of behaviour and feelings, so forget realism. Connell and Mrs Jones are likeable characters, and the story is fun, often engaging the reader by letting her work out what's going on rather than having it hammered home. The other characters are merely the supporting cast.

'Mrs Jones' is great for light holiday reading. I was half-way through the book when my train reached Barcelona Station and I was irritated that I'd arrived so yes, I'd say it's an enjoyable page-turner, an action movie in print.

With any of my reviews, keep Hemingway in mind:-
'If it’s bad, I’ll hate it. If it’s good, then I’ll be envious and hate it even more. You don’t want the opinion of another writer.'

A lady's favour

Another extract from 'Song at Dawn'.

Read blurb on amazon

1150
Dragonetz is Commander of the Guard and Troubadour to Aliénor (Eleanor) of Aquitaine, Queen of France, and Estela is the mystery girl Aliénor has required him to tutor. In this part of the story he is showing her his secret building project, a paper mill. At this time in Europe, only the Moors had the skills to make paper. 

That, my sweet Estela, is the beauty of it! I shall sell paper to the Church for enormous profit and I shall be fantastically rich! As shall my workers.’

Estela chewed the side of a finger, a bad habit she had kept from childhood. ‘The Church won’t like it,’ she stated.

‘No, they won’t.’

‘That makes a dangerous enemy.’ Estela stated the fact.

‘We’ve told him,’ Raoulf was gloomy. ‘But you can see what he’s like. The future pff!’ and he spat, coarsely. ‘The future will be my Lord’s body with a bolt through it!’

‘Ever the optimist!’ Dragonetz clapped Raoulf on the back. ‘That’s what you’re here for, you and your men, to watch my mill and watch my back. Speaking of which, this should make things even.’ With which enigmatic statement, he tore off his doublet and underthings so that he too was bare to the waist, then he grabbed Arnaut’s hand and dragged his unwilling man into a run. Shouting, ‘I said I owed him a ducking,’ Dragonetz ran the two of them straight off the edge of the bank into the river.

‘You mad whore-son,’ burst from Raoulf as he rushed after them to the bank, anxiously scanning the murky water for signs of life. Estela counted to thirty before two heads burst up above the surface, gasping, spouting and followed by thrashing arms. Arnaut twisted underwater, avoiding Dragonetz’ attempt to duck him again and came up at a safe distance, both men treading water and spluttering. ‘Come and join us, Estela,’  Dragonetz called to her.

‘Can’t swim,’ she yelled back.

‘What are you thinking of, bringing a Lady here!’ Raoulf shouted, purple with annoyance.

‘A Lady! I’d forgotten!’

‘Oh my God, no,’ groaned Raoulf.

‘Estela, my sweet, Arnaut wants to do combat and regain his pride – throw us a token.’

Without thinking, Estela pulled the bangle off her arm and threw it in a high arc to land equidistant from the two men. Neither wasted words but dived underneath, rippling the surface as they carved the water underneath. Another count, thirty, forty, Estela thought that Raoulf would explode, holding his own breath to see how long it was possible, then Arnaut broke surface, gasping, followed quickly by a triumphant Dragonetz whooping and waving the bangle in the air.

‘She’s not an ordinary Lady,’ he yelled, ‘she’s a Troubairitz! Ask her!’ And then he struck out for the bank, Arnaut following at a safe distance and after some horseplay with Dragonetz trying to prevent Arnaut getting out the water, both men stood dripping and laughing, pushing each other. Dragonetz waved the bangle, taunting and Arnaut stood, bent double, getting the words out with difficulty. ‘You always have to win, don’t you, even when you don’t want the prize!’

Dragonetz’ eyes glittered. ‘Always, Arnaut, always,’ and then he knelt in front of Estela, offering her the bangle back. She looked down on the black curly hair, bent in mock homage, the broad wet shoulders, the long tapered fingers reaching out to her, returning her token. She felt Arnaut’s stillness, the sunshine, the moment to which this day had been leading all along. She shut her eyes and felt for the lyric. If this were a song, how would it go? And then she knew what to do.

some of Jean Gill's books on Goodreads

Snake on Saturdays

reviews: 3
ratings: 51 (avg rating 4.75)

Song at Dawn

reviews: 1
ratings: 276 (avg rating 4.50)

Someone to Look Up to

reviews: 2
ratings: 185 (avg rating 4.50)

On the Other Hand

ratings: 114 (avg rating 3.00)

A Small Cheese in Provence

ratings: 3 (avg rating 0.0)